A History of Irish Autobiography

The first ever history of autobiographical writing in Ireland, based on original scholarship, and structured around key subgenres, themes, texts, and writers.

Liam Harte (Edited by)

9781107131446, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 1 March 2018

434 pages
23.5 x 16.2 x 2.6 cm, 0.75 kg

'… impressively comprehensive survey of autobiographical prose writing in Ireland … The editor Liam Harte provides an intelligently argued introduction to the critical history of this genre and to the collection of engaging essays that he has assembled here.' Emer Nolan, James Joyce Quarterly

A History of Irish Autobiography is the first ever critical survey of autobiographical self-representation in Ireland from its recoverable beginnings to the twenty-first century. The book draws on a wealth of original scholarship by leading experts to provide an authoritative examination of autobiographical writing in the English and Irish languages. Beginning with a comprehensive overview of autobiography theory and criticism in Ireland, the History guides the reader through seventeen centuries of Irish achievement in autobiography, a category that incorporates diverse literary forms, from religious tracts and travelogues to letters, diaries, and online journals. This ambitious book is rich in insight. Chapters are structured around key subgenres, themes, texts, and practitioners, each featuring a guide to recommended further reading. The volume's extensive coverage is complemented by a detailed chronology of Irish autobiography from the fifth century to the contemporary era, the first of its kind to be published.

1. Introduction: autobiography theory and criticism in Ireland Liam Harte
2. Writing in medieval Ireland in the first-person voice Máire Ní Mhaonaigh
3. Early modern Irish autobiography Marie-Louise Coolahan
4. Irish Protestant life-writing in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Elizabeth Grubgeld
5. Irish women's spiritual and religious life-writing in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Maria Luddy
6. Spiritual and religious life-writing in Ireland since 1900 Louise Fuller
7. Irish political autobiography from Wolfe Tone to Ernie O'Malley Matthew Kelly
8. The memoirs of male politicians in independent Ireland Eoin O'Malley and Kevin Rafter
9. Women's political autobiography in independent Ireland Margaret O'Callaghan
10. Autobiography and the Irish literary revival Nicholas Allen
11. Irish literary autobiography since the Revival Christina Hunt Mahony
12. The Irish autobiographical novel Jonathan Bolton
13. Memoirs of Irish rural life George O'Brien
14. The autobiography of the Irish working class Emmet O'Connor
15. Irish-language autobiography Bríona Nic Dhiarmada
16. Orality and life-writing in modern Ireland Kelly Fitzgerald and Mary Muldowney
17. Southern Irish Protestant autobiography since partition Robert Tobin
18. Northern Irish autobiography since 1960 Barry Sloan
19. The Irish travel memoir I: journeys within Ireland Glenn Hooper
20. The Irish travel memoir II: journeys beyond Ireland Michael Cronin
21. Life-writing and diaspora I: the autobiographical writings of the Irish in the USA and Latin America Laura P. Z. Izarra and James Silas Rogers
22. Life-writing and diaspora II: the autobiographical writings of the Irish in Britain and Australia Patrick Buckridge and Liam Harte
23. The Irish abuse survival memoir Moira J. Maguire
24. Irish celebrity autobiography Anthony P. McIntyre and Diane Negra
25. Irish life-writing in the digital era Claire Lynch.

Subject Areas: Literary reference works [DSR], Literary theory [DSA], Biography: literary [BGL], Autobiography: general [BGA]